Improvement in processes and machinery for starch-clearing



LE. PALMER. Process and Machinery for Starch-Clearing, &c.,

Woven Fabrics. No; 222,527. Patented Dec. 9,1879

N.PETER8, FHOTOLITMOGRIPHER, WASHINGTON, D Q

oration has heretofore,

always been performed by gathering up, roll- I hereby declare iimrnn-Srkrns PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC EPALMER, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPRQVEMENT IN-PROCESSES AND MACHINERY FOR STARCH-CLEARING, &c., WOVEN FABRICS.

To all whom it may concern:

Bcit known that I, ISAAC E. PALMER, of Middletown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of and Machinery for Starch-Clearing and Milling or Mullin g Woven Fabrics; and I do that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

As introductory to the statement of the object and nature of my invention, I will explain that What I term starclrclearing is the process, so called in the trade, by which, in themanufactureof mosquito-netting and other fabrics, the starch or dressing material is worked or cleared out of the meshes or interstices between the warp and weft and worked into the fibers of the warp and weft. This opso far as known to me,

ing, pounding, and working the fabric with the hands after the starch ordressing has been applied and while the fabric is in a wet state.

, The process termed milling or mulling,

. applied to muslin and other fabrics, is substantially similar to that of starch-clearing.

The object of my invention is to effect the desired result more thoroughly, uniformly, expeditiously, and cheaply by the use of machinery; and to that end my invention con,

sists in a process whereby thefabric in a piece of any length is subjected to a continuous twisting and untwisting operation performed upon all parts of its length in regular succession from end to end.

It also consists in the combination, in a machine for such purpose, of a system of rolls and twisting devices, through whichthe fabric to be treated is passed continuously in a piece of any length, and by which every part of the piece is successively twisted or wrung I in oppositedirections alternately.

Figure 1 in the drawings is a central longitudinal section of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is aplan of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the wings of one of the twisting-heads.

. A is the framing of the machine, having mounted upon itin suitable housings at one of the said wings,

' v l l pecification forming part of Letters PatentNo, 222,527, dated December 9, 1879 application filed September 24, 1878.

end a pair of entering-rolls, (l O, and at its other end a pair of delivery-rolls, B B, parallel with G 0. These rolls may have applied to them screws and springs to regulate their pressure.

The lower delivery-roll, B, has secured to it for driving it a gear, D, which gears with and receives motion from a gear, E, on a drivingshaft, F, on which is also made fast a conepulley, G, which transmits motion to a shaft, J, through a belt, H, and a cone-pulley, I, fast upon the latter shaft.

Between and opposite the entering-rolls O O and the delivery-rolls B B there are arranged two twisting-heads, K N O K .N 0, each of which turns freely upon one of two fixed tubes, L L, which are arranged in line with each other, and which are secured in place by being clamped by screws b 1) between concave jaws provided on a stationary standard, M, which is bolted down to the top of the framing A. place longitudinally there are provided on the outer ends of the tubes L L flanges a a, be-

tween which and the opposite faces of the standard M the said twisting-heads are confined.

Each twisting-head consistsof a' collar or sleeve, K or K, two wings, N N or N N, hinged to said collar, as shown at c c, and a pair of rolls, 0 O or O 0, preferably grooved, each of which has its journal-bearings in one the axes of said rolls being at right angles to the axis of the tubes L L and collars K K.

The wings N N N N of each twisting-head are connected by bolts e e and nuts f f, by which to draw their respective rolls toward each other, and so produce pressure on the material passing between the rolls. Springs may be applied at the backs of the said nuts to make the pressure of the rolls yielding.

The collars K K are each furnished with bevel-gears g or g, and these two bevel-gears are both geared with a bevel-gear, h, 011 a shaft, P, which works in a suitable bearing, 2', on the top of the framing A, and which carries a pulley, Q, through which motion is transmitted to it by a belt, R, from a pulley, S, on the shaft J, the said bevel-gear h giving motion through the bevel-gears g g to their respective twisting-heads in opposite directions.

To keep these twisting-heads in r The wings N N N N of each twisting-head are connected or geared together on each side, as shown at i in Figs. 2 and 3, which represent the gearing on opposite sides of the wings N N, and show that the relative arran gement of the gear-teeth on one side of the wings is the reverse of that on the other side. The said wings may, however, be geared together in any other suitable manner that will cause the two rolls of either twisting-head to have corresponding movements toward and from the axis of rotation of the twisting-head.

Instead of the two tubes L L, a single tube may be used of a suitable length to receive both twisting-heads.

In front of the twisting-head K N O nearest the receiving-rolls C 0 there is an annular guide, P, to conduct the fabric to be wrung or twisted from the said rolls to the rolls 0 0 of the said twisting-head.

The piece of goods to be treated is gathered up laterally and introduced lengthwise into the machine, one end being passed between the entering-rolls through the guide P, between the rolls 0 0, and through the tube L of the first twisting-head, through the tube L, and between the rolls 0 O of the said twisting-head, and between the delivery-rolls B B, and the pressure of the several rolls having been properly adjusted the machine is set in motion. The piece is drawn through the machine by the delivery-rolls B B, and the operation of the twisting-heads is as follows: Between the receiving-rolls and the rolls of the first twisting-head, K N 0, the fabric is twisted in one direction by the rotation of the latter. Between the rolls of the first twisting-head and those of the second twistinghead, K N 0,by reason of the two twistingheads rotating in opposite directions at equal velocities, the twist put into the fabric by the first twisting-head is taken out, and a similar amount of twist in an opposite direction is put into it, and between the rolls of the second twisting-head and the deliveryrolls the lastmentioned twist is taken out, so that the fabric is delivered without any twist, having been first twisted or wrung in one direction, then untwisted and twisted in the opposite direction, and finally untwisted again. In this way starch or dressing in the meshes or interstices between the warp and weft yarns is worked out therefrom and worked into the fibers.

By varying the relative velocities of the rotation of the twisting-heads and of the delivon the two cone-pulleys G I, the amount of. twist put into the fabric may be varied, and

by that means the character of the finish given to the fabric may be varied.

The fabric, according to its character or the quality of the finish to be given to it, may be subjected to the. operation of the machine while wet with the fresh application of starch or after having been first starched, afterward dried, and then again moistened, or, in some instances, it might be passed through the machine in a dry state. The machine, instead of having only twisting-heads revolving in opposite d tions, may have four or more twisting-heads a arranged in line with each other and so geared l as to rotate in opposite directions for the purpose of twisting the fabric first in one and then in the opposite direction as many times as may be desired.

I do not confine myself to the particular construction of the twisting-heads, as they may be variously constructed to produce the N same twisting and untwisting operation.

I claim- 1. The process of starch-clearing, milling, J or mulling woven fabrics in the piece, consisting in subjecting all parts of the length of the piece successively to a continuous twisting and untwisting operation, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination, in a machine for twisting or wringing woven fabrics by a continuous operation, of receiving-rolls and deliveryi rolls and two rotating twisting devices arranged in line with each other between the said rolls and rotating in opposite directions, 1 substantially as herein described.

3. The combination, with the receiving and delivery rolls U U B B, of the twisting-heads, l composed of the collars K K, the hinged wings N N, and the rolls 0 O O 0, and means of rotating the said heads in opposite directions, substantially as herein described.

4. The combination of the standard M, the fixed tube or tubes L L, and the two twistingheads, consisting of collars K K, the wings N N, and the rolls 0 O O O, rotating upon said tube or tubes in opposite directions, and means of imparting rotary motion to said heads, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

ISAAC E. PALMER.

cry-rolls, which is done by shit'tin g the belt H Gno. W. BURKE. 

